Everand Logo

Welcome to Everand!

  • Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

    Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

    Zero Second Thinking: The world’s simplest training for improving your mind
    Zero Second Thinking: The world’s simplest training for improving your mind
    Zero Second Thinking: The world’s simplest training for improving your mind
    Ebook191 pages2 hours

    Zero Second Thinking: The world’s simplest training for improving your mind

    By Yuji Akaba

    ()

    Read preview

    About this ebook

    An effective way to improve and strengthen your mind. Train the verbalization of thought and emotion by "note writing." By putting in the effort, it is possible in just a couple of weeks to speed up the process. The author, who was at McKinsey for 14 years, has been updating and improving his method for over 20 years so that anyone, anywhere with little expenditure can excel at the best “zero second thinking” there has ever been.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherOne Peace Books
    Release dateJul 28, 2019
    ISBN9781642730470
    Zero Second Thinking: The world’s simplest training for improving your mind

    Related to Zero Second Thinking

    Related ebooks

    Business For You

    View More
    View More

    Related podcast episodes

    Related articles

    • Article

      Writing Motivation

      Jun 24, 2023

      Where do writing motivation problems come from, and how can we overcome them? In recent years, there has been a movement in psychology to understand what happens in our brains when things are going well. Research in neurology, cognitive psychology, p

      5 min read

    • Article

      Got A Shiny New Idea?

      Nov 14, 2020

      Got A Shiny New Idea?
      5 min read

    • Article

      Find Your Inner Swot

      Aug 1, 2022

      Find Your Inner Swot
      5 min read

    • Article

      How To Make Your Procrastination Work For You

      Mar 25, 2023

      AH, PROCRASTINATION: THE IDLE tapping of pen against paper. The familiar countdown toward a deadline that is hours to passing. A blank mind and an even blanker Word document, the inability to just start gnawing at the back of your brain even as you o

      4 min read

    • Article

      The Power Of Flow

      Mar 1, 2023

      The Power Of Flow
      16 min read

    • Article

      The Mindful Leader

      Sep 1, 2018

      The Mindful Leader
      11 min read

    • Article

      Measuring Success

      Sep 1, 2018

      In many cases, what people thought was a ‘meaningful purpose’ was merely their pursuit of success — and these are two very different things. Once we reach a career milestone, the gap between what we expect to feel and what we actually feel can come a

      5 min read

    • Article

      How To Stop Multitasking

      Nov 20, 2020

      How To Stop Multitasking
      4 min read

    • Article

      Get Happy

      Jun 18, 2021

      Get Happy
      2 min read

    • Article

      Write Down Your Ideas!

      Nov 23, 2021

      Write Down Your Ideas!
      4 min read

    • Article

      Free Your Mind

      Nov 5, 2020

      Free Your Mind
      6 min read

    • Article

      Making the Most of Writing Workshops

      Aug 17, 2022

      WHAT can work shop participants do to create an open, equitable, encouraging, and positively challenging workshop experience for themselves? Our time in writing communities is important. The past few years have made that abundantly clear. If we have

      6 min read

    • Article

      Beat The Blues

      Jan 4, 2024

      Beat The Blues
      5 min read

    • Article

      How to Reinvent Yourself

      May 1, 2022

      SEVERAL MONTHS INTO THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC, something peculiar went missing from supermarkets across North America. You might be flashing back to the great toilet paper shortage of 2020, but I’m not talking about that. All of a sudden, millions of peo

      6 min read

    • Article

      What’s Stopping You?

      Sep 1, 2023

      What’s Stopping You?
      4 min read

    • Article

      Headcase

      Jun 16, 2019

      Headcase
      2 min read

    • Article

      An Emerging Leader's Mindset

      Sep 1, 2019

      You are known as a champion of workplace inclusivity. For anyone who still needs to be convinced, why is it so important? This is something I’ve always been passionate about, even before it was part of my job description. There are two things in part

      6 min read

    • Article

      Manage Your Studies

      May 10, 2023

      Manage Your Studies
      2 min read

    • Article

      Take It SLOW

      Mar 24, 2022

      Take It SLOW
      4 min read

    • Article

      Healthy Helping

      Oct 18, 2021

      Healthy Helping
      4 min read

    • Article

      Invest in Mindfulness

      Aug 9, 2017

      Invest in Mindfulness
      3 min read

    • Article

      New Year, New Goals

      Nov 14, 2020

      Well, January is going to be the month you start. Sound good? Here’s how to apply some structure to the situation. Ask yourself: What’s stopping me from writing this? Fear? Is it not knowing where to start? Not knowing how to start? If it’s fear: Loo

      8 min read

    Related categories

    Reviews for Zero Second Thinking

    0 ratings

    0 ratings0 reviews

    What did you think?

    Tap to rate

    Review must be at least 10 words

      Book preview

      Zero Second Thinking - Yuji Akaba

      INTRODUCTION

      People with wholehearted intention who in reality are at a standstill are surprisingly common.

      No forward progress. Or, spinning your wheels. When there’s something you’re hung up on, your mind doesn’t work well, and your thoughts just don’t run deep. Even if you try to think, some other immediate task floats into your mind. You can’t concentrate. You flit to and fro, end up running in circles, unable to reach a conclusion, incapable of getting to the core of it all.

      Prior to thinking deeply, it is progress to be able to think even a little bit constructively. When you waver, fretting at the entrance to the challenge whether it’s this or that, you won’t progress even a single step forward, let alone be able to think deeply. You’ve thought about it, so much that you’re tired of thinking, and even then you’ve made no headway.

      From the start, the majority of people have no understanding of how to think deeply.

      You’re told to please think harder, told this idea is shallow, and you understand that others are demanding you to think deeply. When we’re able to think deeply, we somehow feel that we’re able to accomplish amazing things, but no one knows a concrete methodology for doing so. Even when we think we might have it, we lack confidence.

      Taking a moment to think back, from elementary school onwards in Japan, thinking exercises which require us to effectively assemble our thoughts are mostly absent. Instruction on how to deepen our thinking is, aside from sparse composition exercises, also mostly absent. And of opportunities to speak in class, the majority are in response to the teacher’s questions. Chances to battle out opinions like in America are also mostly absent. Which is to say nothing of the fact that manners of thinking, methods of coping with one’s troubles, and so forth, are not covered at all.

      I believe that those who can make ordinary conversation, read books, and use the internet are inherently intelligent. Some people are susceptible to stress and pressure, but everyone has their own opinions and can express them when in a comfortable environment. Everyone also possesses appropriate powers of judgment. To be certain, some ideas are shallow and some deep, but this too will improve through conversing with others. Age, academic record, sex, experience, and so on play little role in this. Even so, surprisingly many people have no confidence in themselves, and their precious potential becomes a squandered resource.

      This is such a waste. With a method for organizing one’s mind, for gathering and deepening one’s thoughts, anyone can grow as though they are a different person. They will be able to excel at work. Their communication troubles will diminish, and they will be liberated in no small way from unnecessary suffering, capable of living freer than before.

      I was involved in management innovation at McKinsey, a consulting firm, for fourteen years, and since the year 2000 have been engaged in cofounding startups and management support. Management innovation refers to attacking head-on the management challenges companies confront, improving profitability, implementing organizational reform, launching new enterprises, and developing human resources. I work with CEOs, executives, department heads, section managers, and other high-level leaders to promote awareness and behavioral reform. Since the fighting power of company employees greatly influences the future of companies, it is imperative that each employee grow to consider matters more deeply, devise solution strategies, and leave no stone unturned.

      Concurrently, through various encounters, I’ve had frequent chances to speak and interact with many people, including opportunities to counsel students at business plan contests and venture-related university lectures.

      Fortunately, through such efforts and connections with many people, I’ve worked out an effective method for deepening one’s thoughts and organizing one’s mind.

      It doesn’t matter whether you’re an elementary school student or a university student or a working-adult, whether you’re a man or a woman, or whether you have a good academic background or not. Nationality, too, matters not. No matter who you are, this method produces startling results.

      It simply entails writing down, one after another, whatever floats into your mind. Write these not in a notebook or on a computer, but simply use one piece of Letter paper per thought.

      Rather than leisurely spending time on each, quickly finish one page in within one minute. Write 10 pages every day then instantly organize them by throwing them into one of several folders. Just by doing this, you can train the most fundamental ability to think, something which is not adequately taught even in McKinsey’s program. You will not only be able to think deeply, but will also approach the ultimate level of Zero Second Thinking. You will become the master of your mind; stress and anxiety will fall away. You’ll begin living with eyes on your own bright future. Moreover, it costs almost no money, and in just three weeks’ time you can expect to feel considerable results.

      From here on, I will introduce the concrete method. Chapters 1 and 2 further elucidate tips for thinking and what I mean by Zero Second Thinking. Those who want to put note-taking into practice and draw nearer to Zero Second Thinking as soon as possible may begin reading from Chapter 3.

      Contents

      Introduction

      Chapter 1: Tips for Thinking

      Putting into words the images and intuitions that come to your mind

      Aiming to use your words freely and precisely

      Grasping the central meaning and nuances of words

      Avoiding shallow thinking and wheel spinning

      Both deep meditation and just talking are difficult

      Chapter 2: Humans Can Think in Zero Seconds

      Taking time does not necessarily lead to deeper thinking

      Competent people and excellent managers make swift decisions

      The ultimate result: Zero Second Thinking

      Zero Second Thinking and gathering information

      Mastering Zero Second Thinking through note-taking

      The virtues of note-taking

      • Note-taking organizes your mind

      • Note-taking builds confidence and positivity

      • Note-taking releases your anger

      • Note-taking facilitates rapid growth

      Chapter 3: The Note-taking Method for Cultivating Zero Second Thinking

      How to write titles

      • Writing similar titles many times over

      • How to save up titles

      How to write the main text

      • Stretching out each line (10–15 words)

      • Working hard to write four to six lines

      • Not minding the order in which you write

      • Following the note-taking format without fail

      Writing whatever comes to mind

      Writing notes on the back of used Letter paper

      Writing ten pages every day

      Immediately writing one page in one minute

      Why it’s wrong to use notebooks, diaries, Microsoft Word, etc.

      Figuring out how to write notes anywhere within one minute

      • The optimal pen for note-taking

      • Learning to write notes wherever you are

      Putting feelings into thoughts, and thoughts into notes

      Examples of note titles by circumstance/needs

      • Quieting and organizing your mind

      • Communicating smoothly

      • Accomplishing your goals

      • Growing and becoming able to work bette

      Chapter 4: Utilizing Notes to the Fullest Extent

      Delving deep to make notes even more effective

      Writing on the same theme from different angles

      • Writing over fifteen to twenty pages until you feel convinced

      The model for further developing notes

      The relationship between notes and logic trees

      Consolidating notes into proposals

      • Jotting down ideas one after another

      • Laying them out like a card game

      • Adding and organizing new ideas as they come

      • Balancing the whole

      • Writing in PowerPoint while referencing notes

      • Allowing your proposal several days to ripen then raising it to the next level with meticulous revisions

      Note-taking and your team members, family

      • Having them write notes for you

      • Writing notes while listening to their worries

      Chapter 5: Organizing and Utilizing Notes

      Organizing notes in clear folders

      Re-examining folder categories

      Notes thereafter

      • How to store notes

      • Generally, do not look back on notes

      • Organizing your folders and taking a brief look after three months

      • Re-examining once more after another three months

      In Conclusion

      Putting into words the images and intuitions that come to your mind

      To begin, I want for you to raise your awareness of the relationship between thoughts and words. Thoughts are formed by words, and emotions can be put into words. From there, let’s try putting into words the images and intuitions that come to our minds.

      It’s common for our minds to feel foggy. Various words float around. Language that won’t become words emerges and disappears. Let’s try our best to put it into words. Let’s try to put it into words the second it rises to the surface. Talk is cheap, however, and this language will continue to flicker without becoming distinct if left in the mind, so begin to write. Even if bad thoughts about this or that come to mind, write them without concern. Without concern means write people’s names, or desirous or hateful or bitter things, exactly as they are. Find a way to work through unpleasant feelings and begin writing. Having done that, after expelling it all out, strangely enough, you will become able to be just a little more forward-looking.

      Here’s an example of what that might look like:

      Why doesn’t my boss let me do that project?

      Is there something about me he’s not satisfied with? Last time, too, he didn’t pass on the project I raised my hand for.

      Even though I definitely would have done a good job.

      I wonder why he didn’t have me do it.

      Why does he never pass these on to me?

      I wonder if they don’t have high hopes for me in this division.

      However, yesterday he praised me quite a bit. That was unusual. Maybe I’m appreciated more than I think.

      Maybe there’s a different reason for my not being given those projects.

      Unless—maybe there’s some different project he’s considering me for?

      I’m probably overthinking it. But still.

      I guess fretting over it won’t help anything.

      Tomorrow, I’ll try asking him directly!

      Or it might look like this:

      Why did that turn into an argument between me and him?

      I guess it’s because I wasn’t very thrilled about his birthday present for me even though he went to all that trouble to buy it.

      But it wasn’t even really my taste.

      Was there really any need to buy something like that?

      Last time was something weird too.

      But I guess he’s really putting in the effort, not forgetting my birthday or our anniversary, especially considering how men can be.

      And he does seem serious about me.

      He did say he worked extra hard at his part-time job to save up for it.

      I think I might’ve stuck my foot in my mouth.

      Maybe I’ll try apologizing.

      But it’s not like I’m in the wrong. It’s not even my taste.

      However, he did go the extra mile at work to buy it for me, even though he’s busy preparing for his test.

      He might not look it, but he’s pretty serious about school, so juggling both studying and work must’ve been difficult.

      Hmmm…

      His fashion sense is somewhat lacking.

      But still…

      I’ll go ahead and send him an email saying sorry.

      Ah, he replied. He must’ve been waiting for it. Good thing I sent it!

      There may be times your mood doesn’t change, no matter how much you write. Nevertheless, in most cases, when you set out to write without reservation, in the end your feelings will be a little clearer. As a result of writing out what you want to say without hesitation regardless of what others might think of your words, you will feel refreshed. This is the same as how shedding tens of thousands of tears after a horrible heartbreak allows you to begin moving forward again.

      Although it might feel bewildering at first—wondering can I really write down something like this?—you will soon get used to it. You can keep them somewhere no one will see. Since there’s no chance that others will see what you write, there’s no need to worry.

      Although you might feel ashamed, wonder if you can really write such things down, once you force yourself to try to write it out, you will realize that you’re surprisingly capable. We have the expression to spin a tale, but it really is just like that.

      Not spinning a tale, but spinning together your own emotions. Because there’s no need to hold back on anybody’s behalf, you’ll quickly lengthen it out. If you begin putting pen to paper from the moment an idea comes to mind, then this is something that even those who think themselves no good at writing can accomplish. Trying

      Enjoying the preview?
      Page 1 of 1